Mr Chan: The Need for Flexible, Issue-based Partnerships to address Evolving Conflicts

Minister for Defence, Mr Chan Chun Sing spoke at the sixth plenary of the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) today on the topic "Evolving Security Partnerships In a Fragmenting World", alongside NATO Chair of the Military Commission Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, and Philippines Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr.

Mr Chan highlighted the evolving nature of conflicts. He said, "Conflict has evolved in terms of three "beyonds" - beyond geography, beyond military firepower, and beyond the here-and-now." In today's hyperconnected world, conflicts carry global ramifications across military, economic, informational, and cyber domains.

To address today's conflicts, Mr Chan emphasised the need to preserve the rules and norms that are underpinned by international law. He said "Our current system is not perfect and needs to be refreshed and aligned with today's realities…The alternative - a world with weak institutions and norms, where every issue and every relationship is viewed through a transactional lens - would leave us all worse off. More beggar-thy-neighbour policies make beggars of us all… For our nations and economies to thrive, we need stability and predictability, undergirded by rules and norms. Foregoing all these for short-term political gain would undermine our long-term collective security."

He also highlighted the need for flexible, issue-based partnerships which complement multilateral cooperation to address new challenges. He said, "We should instead develop flexible partnerships with like-minded countries, forming coalitions of the able and willing. These serve as the connecting beams of our cooperative lattice: to bridge gaps, test ideas, and path-find in new and uncharted territories." The issue of Critical Underwater Infrastructure (CUI) security is one area where such cooperation is especially necessary. CUI by nature transcends geographical boundaries, making it a shared vulnerability that no single country or region can address alone. Thus, Guiding Principles for Underwater Infrastructure Defence Exchanges (GUIDE) was launched to bring defence establishments together around this shared challenge, and pave the way for future practical cooperation among like-minded partners.

In his speech, Mr Chan also stressed that effective international cooperation requires domestic confidence. He said "Trust abroad requires confidence at home. Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong once described Singapore as a small speedboat in an open sea. This image still holds. We cannot control the sea, but we can certainly keep our boat seaworthy."

After speaking at the plenary, Mr Chan hosted the second Ministerial Roundtable with 10 visiting Ministers and their representatives. Drawing on earlier discussions, the Ministers exchanged views on non-traditional and hybrid threats, including the impact of misinformation, cyber risks, and threats to critical underwater infrastructure. The Ministers also discussed the importance of innovation in the area of emerging technologies, the need to get good value from defence spending, and the value of taking a total defence approach to secure buy-in from citizens for defence that sustains peace and security over the longer term.

More Resources

Speech by Minister for Defence, Mr Chan Chun Sing, at the 6th Plenary Session on "Evolving Security Partnerships in a Fragmenting World" at the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue on 31 May 2026